Steffans expands to larger Market Harborough shop

Award-winning jeweller buys corner shop site from previous town rival.

Independent jeweller Steffans is moving to a larger store in the town centre of Market Harborough.

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The award-winning retailer has secured the premises of Nolan’s Jewellers on the town’s central shopping square, diagonally opposite its existing store. It will add around 1400 sq feet of retail space to the business; twice as much as the existing Market Harborough shop.

A sale began on February 20 at the existing store located at No.2 The Square, in advance of the business moving to the larger premises at No.5 The Square.

For Steffans director Wes Suter, securing the site of Nolan’s was a labour of love. “I used to walk past it every day as a boy, and always knew it was the best location in Market Harborough,” he told Professional Jeweller.

Nolan’s went into liquidation around two years ago, and Steffans has been negotiating with the site’s owner, a Market Harborough church, for over 18 months, Suter revealed. “We have been going to the church’s board every month in an effort to secure the site at a sensible price,” he added.

He would not disclose the rent that the business finally agreed with the church, but said it was not “silly money”.

The larger store at No.5 will allow Steffans to more accurately replicate the company’s flagship store in Northampton. “We’ll be investing a six-figure sum in creating an incredible experience for our customers. We’ll have all the key shop-in-shops that we have in Northampton including Swarovski, Thomas Sabo, Links of London and Pandora,” Suter said.

The existing Steffans at No.2 will become an outlet store for the business – selling end of line jewellery at discounted prices.

Along with the new store, Steffans is also investing heavily in its online presence, and will launch a revamped retail web site before the summer. “The online business is incredibly important to Steffans. We need to keep the web site current, and will be introducing a few fresh ideas with the relaunch. The back end also needed a bit of tender loving care,” Suter explained.

The Suter family, which runs Steffans, has been recognised for two years running as Ti Sento Retail Stars in the Professional Jeweller Hot 100.